Duck’s Robertson on Gays: ‘I Just Quoted a Bible Verse … I’m Trying to Help Those Poor Souls’

(CNSNews.com) – Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson defended his comments about homosexual behavior being sinful, saying he was just quoting the Bible and that he was “trying to help those poor souls and turn them to Jesus.”

He also explained that God gave man the authority to hunt and eat meat, regardless of “all this political correct crap,” and he urged people to register to vote and then “vote this ungodly bunch out of Washington, D.C.”

Robertson made his comments on Saturday, June 21, during a Q&A with WZZK-FM, Birmingham, Ala., radio hosts Greg Burgess and Calvin “Speedy” Wilburn at the “Rock the South” music festival, which was held in Cullman, Ala., June 20-21. Robertson’s son, Alan Robertson, a Christian preacher, also participated in the Q&A.

During the discussion, the issues of sin and Robertson’s well-documented comments on homosexuality came up, reported AL.com, and the Duck Dynasty dad said, “Everybody knows what sin is. Somebody asks me about a specific sin. I just quoted a Bible verse and everybody said I was a mean old man.”

“I’m actually a nice man,” said Robertson. “I’m trying to help those poor souls and turn them to Jesus.”

Back in December 2013, the A&E network suspended Robertson for comments he made in a GQ magazine interview, in which he said he did not understand why a man would prefer another man’s anus to a woman’s vagina. “It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical,” he further commented.

Robertson was then asked by GQ what was sinful and he said, “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.” He then paraphrased Corinthians I (6:9-10), “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

At the "Rock the South" event, Robertson referenced the Bible frequently. In speaking about duck hunting and hunting in general, Robertson paraphrased Acts (10: 9-13), saying, “There were birds of the air – that be your ducks. There were creatures that move along the ground, crayfish and such, and the fish of the sea. And he got word from headquarters [from God], arise, kill, and eat.”

“Therefore, God says we can whack ‘em and stack ‘em irregardless of all this political correct crap,” said Robertson.

One of the radio hosts then said, “I guess PETA’s not a fan of the show?” and Robertson answered, “No.”

At the end of the Q&A, Robertson spoke directly to the crowd and urged the people to register to vote.

“Hey Alabama, whatever you do, whatever you do, go register to vote, especially on this next presidential election, register to vote,” he said. “And you ought to register to vote for the House and the Senate, too. Get your tail down there and vote this ungodly bunch out of Washington, D.C. “

Duck Dynasty is the most popular reality-TV program in cable history with an average 10.5 million viewers per episode.